Fit Friday: Tips, Tricks and Inspiration

Thank you, Smart Phone. I am finally able to get back to my health-reading habit since my smart phone allows me to squeeze that activity into the nooks and crannies of time available in my 3-Ballplayer-Mom lifestyle! Which leads to our Friday Tips, Tricks and Inspiration.

Tips: Choose a Plan You Can Stick With and GET SUPPORT

I'm not one to get into flame wars so in complete honesty, the part of this editorial  ("Why Protein Isn't Bad for You") that goes after Dr. Ornish wasn't personally interesting to me. However, this thought provoking op-ed piece reminded me once again of the importance of a balanced, moderate approach to eating and the importance of in-the-flesh, ongoing support in your weight loss efforts. It never hurts to be reminded!

The salient points are these:

• Choose a moderate and healthy eating plan that you can continue over a long period or -- ideally -- forever. 
• Protein is a necessary part of our diet. Avoid processed meats; really folks, these should be for occasional treats or actual emergencies
• Any eating plan is more successful with regular -- think weekly -- ongoing support
• Online support has simply not been proven successful as a sole means of support; in the high tech age, it turns out we all still need people "in the flesh."

Tricks: Gastric Bypass Surgery is Not a Panacea for Instant Happiness

In fact, it's a proven successful method of weight loss that comes at a high price. For many people, it's life saving. Yet it's not easy nor instant, and the changes that come with it are hard for some people to handle. I hope you will take a minute to read this first-person account of weight-bias with a few words on the side effects of gastric bypass.

Who Knew? Getting Off Our Butts is Saving our Lives! Friday Inspiration.

I do write about this frequently but that's because there is an explosion of research on the topic. This recent study looks at the effects of sedentary behavior as related to our mortality. Straight from the researcher's pens' is this conclusion: 

" . . . long periods of sedentary time was positively associated with an increased risk for dying (from all-causes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases) and increasing the risk for certain forms of cancer . . ., cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Our meta-analysis found that the largest association was with type 2 diabetes (91% increased risk)."

That's pretty hard to ignore. One of my loved ones died of complications of diabetes after a tough battle of many years that saw her losing both her legs, Death by diabetes is slow and painful.

The study authors go on to suggest that 30 minutes/day of physical activity is critical to longevity and health. They also mention other recent studies that suggest even that amount of activity will not necessarily counteract the negative effects of long periods of sitting. This has been much in the news lately, resulting in recommendations that we never sit longer than 20 minutes at a stretch. This is a very challenging goal to meet; I know because I try to keep it. 

It would be instructive to just notice how long your stretches of sitting are currently. If you have a Fitbit or Jawbone or similar device, it's easy to do: Just look at your data. If you do not have an activity monitor, it would be easy enough to keep a notepad on your desk or near your sofa. Try wearing at least a basic pedometer and increase your steps every day, paying particular attention to long periods of sitting.

It's easy enough to do:  I am going to focus on getting up during commercials when I watch TV in the evening which is when almost all my sitting takes place.  I am also going to make sure I get a minimum of 10,000/steps every day (even when ill!) which will help me accomplish the previous goal.

What will inspire you this week?

The Meat/Blood Pressure Equation, Fitness Trackers, and a Crazy Workout: Friday Tips, Tricks and Inspiration

Happy Friday Fit Friends!!

It's time for your weekly dose of Tips, Tricks and Inspiration to cheer you into your weekend. How has your week been?

I have had some physical challenges this week and had to employ the strategy of rest to heal up my right foot once again. I am finally fed up with this ongoing right foot issue and have committed to myself to go to the podiatrist the next time it starts acting up. I'm no doctor but my best guess is it's a stress fracture. I am on my feet all day at work so I have to take good care of them. I also finally got fed up with a pair of my work shoes that seem to exacerbate the issue and have ordered replacements. I'm sticking with Reikers, by far the best fitting, most pain-free shoes I've ever owned!

Finding the Right Fitness Tracker

Good equipment is paramount, isn't it? Sometimes it's worth paying a bit more to get the thing that really is a good "fit" for you. My tip this week is to consider purchasing a fitness tracker to help you in your health goals. I personally love my Fitbit One because it not only counts my steps and other activity with it's accelerometer, it also differentiates between light, moderate and "very active" activity. This motivates me to pick it up as the day nears an end. Don't take my word for it though, here is a helpful review of several different fitness products. Not included in this review are the Weight Watcher's ActiveLink product which is surprisingly much lower priced than most of its competitors and can be even used in the pool! Also not included is the BodyMedia armband, offspring of the once-popular BodyBugg, made famous by the show, Biggest Loser. I believe both these last two products do require subscriptions to access their measurements. Check it out for yourself and consider treating yourself to a very useful step up from a simple pedometer.

Why You Might Want to Eat Less Meat

Are you or someone you know suffering from high blood pressure? Here's a simple trick to lower that number In my wellness reading recently I came across this JAMA paper review on Obesity Panacea that shows eating less meat can help lower blood pressure. Having been raised in a rural area, I am from the meat-eater ancestral pool. I have been vegetarian for several months at a time but it is not a way of life that is sustainable for me personally. Nonetheless, "Meatless Monday" and "Fish Friday" have helped me reduce the amount of meat our family eats and we also have meatless lunches at least half our days. Take a look at the article for yourself and see if there are some practical changes you can make.

Bookend Your Weekend Days with Workouts

Finally, a little inspiration for your weekend. If you tend to overdo on the weekends, try book-ending each day with a couple of workouts. Research shows that working out on the weekends makes us more mindful not only of what we are consuming but also of the work it takes to burn off the excess.  I tried out this SparkPeople video recently and it gave me a good run for my money! It's an all-over toning plus cardio piece that runs 28 minutes total. Give it a shot and let me have your thoughts! My commitment for the weekend (Friday through Sunday) is to break my workout into two pieces - morning and evening - so I'm less tempted to overdo on the snacks and alcohol. If you have some other inspiring weekend motivators for us, please share them in the comments.